Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7938 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-08-30
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: Arabic, English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 131 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Director Joe Johnston has always had an entertaining sense of adventure, and with Hidalgo he proves it in spades. It's yet another underrated film for Johnston (along with such enjoyable popcorn flicks as The Rocketeer and Jurassic Park III), dismissed by many critics but a welcome treat for anyone drawn to good ol'-fashioned movie excitement. In his first role since playing Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Viggo Mortensen brings handsome appeal to his low-key portrayal of Frank T. Hopkins, a real-life long-distance horse racer who, as the movie opens, has witnessed the appalling massacre of Native Americans at Wounded Knee in 1890. Drifting into Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, he agrees to compete, with his trusty mustang, Hidalgo, in "The Ocean of Fire," a treacherous 3,000-mile horse race across the Arabian desert. Toss in a bunch of conspiring competitors, a noble sheik (Omar Sharif), his lovely daughter (Zuleikha Robinson), and enough fast-paced danger to fill 133 minutes, and you've got a rousing, humorous, and lightly spiritual adventure that's a lot of fun to watch. It hardly matters that it's almost pure fiction (the real Hopkins was known by many as "a pathological liar"). More important is the love of movies and moviemaking that Johnston so delightfully conveys. --Jeff Shannon

From the studio
• Sand & Celluloid Featurette

• THE HORSE IS GOOD - 'Easter Egg'

Synopsis
A breathtakingly photographed, epic western like none produced for decades, HIDALGO recounts the life of legend Frank T. Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen). Set in the 1800s, this family film chronicles the triumphant victory won by Frank and his mustang Hidalgo in the Ocean of Fire, an often-fatal competition in which the best riders and thoroughbreds race across Middle Eastern deserts. For Frank, who is known in the west for his prowess as a Pony Express rider and the winner of long-distance horse races, the lure of the Ocean of Fire is not only the $100,000 purse but also the clear challenge--both of which prove irresistible, and inspire him to travel across the world for this life-altering experience.
With sweeping landscapes that evoke John Ford westerns like STAGECOACH and THE SEARCHERS, HIDALGO features enough racing, rivalry, and romance to befit any action film. But the race also provides a vehicle for the story of Frank forgiving himself for his participation in the Wounded Knee slaughter and accepting his part-Indian ancestry. The film's message, highlighted in a particularly moving scene where Frank invokes the spirits of his Native American ancestors, is that the key to happiness is accepting yourself as you are.

Customer Reviews

Trial by Fire
Traumatised by the massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890, Frank Hopkins becomes a show-rider, drowning his pain in alcohol. He is roused from his torpor by a challenge: to ride in the 'Oceans of Fire' race in Arabia. Surviving the desert is not his only trial: he is also tested by brigands, rivals and temptation. Will he regain his honour?

This film surprised and encouraged me. Contemporary heroes generally don't know the meaning of restraint: Mr Hopkins has that power. Hidalgo bucks the trend.

The story is reasonable, the action engaging, the casting excellent and the photography great.

A good fun movie
This film is rather good. The storyline is easy to follow and the plot is in the same place but you can't really change it in this movie.

Based on a true story, Frank Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen, Lord of the Rings) is a wild cowboy type of man who races in long distance horse races though the country. His horse, called Hidalgo, who is a mustang has great endurance and has led Frank to never loose a race in his life.

Frank is invited to race in The Ocean of Fire, a 3000 mile race across the Arabian Desert along with the Arabians best horse racers. They are vicious racers and are not afraid to cheat. Can Hidalgo and Frank outrun the other competitors? Or will they die of thirst by sizzling in the baking hot sun?

This is a good adventure with some great action scenes. You're into it after the first 5 minutes. An outstanding performance by Viggo Mortensen and a great performance by 2 time Golden Globe award winner, Omar Sharif (Lawrence of Arabia). Also starring Said Taghmaoui (Three Kings).

It's something different to what you usually see. Overall a good film which will give you a fun two hours.

Great vistas but shallow on story
The horse is the best thing about Hidalgo, and while his lovable antics steal the screen in every scene he's in, one can't help feeling that the movie as a whole is really just a second rate Indiana Jones. The scenery is certainly spectacular, and the film, for the most part is beautifully photographed, but the plot is so thin and, at times, the pacing is so slow that Hidalgo is only mildly entertaining in fits and spurts. The bond between man and beast is pretty much at the heart of this exotic adventure, which is reportedly based on a true story. And a blonde, charismatic Viggo Mortensen is obviously having lots of fun as Frank Hopkins, the upstart, half Indian cowboy, who in 1890, triumphs in a dangerous horse race across Arabia.

The problem with Hidalgo is that the narrative is packed with such a large number of supporting Arabic characters that, at times, it's particularly hard to figure out who is who, and more importantly, who is fighting whom. Many of the subplots such as Hopkin's attempt to rescue the daughter of a wealthy sheik (Omar Sharif) from a competitor in the race, seem almost tacked on. And while the shootout between Hopkins and the bad guys is lots of fun, it's as though the director has shredded historical accuracy and inserted this gratuitous action scene just to stretch the movie's length.

The story begins with Hopkins and Hidalgo wasting away their days as distance riders in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Frank formerly served in the U.S. military, but after witnessing the massacre at Wounded Knee he leaves the service a broken man. An emissary of a Bedouin horse breeder sees the show and contests Mr. Hopkins' label as the world's greatest long-distance rider. A challenge is made for the Oceans of Fire race across 3,000 miles of Arabian territory. The race is brutal and many people die from the vicious heat and the massive sandstorms. The Arabian challengers resent Frank and remind him that a non-Arab has never won the race. They chide him because Hidalgo is a lowly mustang, a mixed breed, regarded as impure and extremely inferior. They also deride Hopkins' participation in the dignified race, seeing it as a violation of the event's distinction.

Along the way Frank meets a spoiled, manipulative English horse breeder (Louise Lombard) who wishes that her own noble purebred Arabian stallion would win the race. She tries, at first, to bargain with Frank and then she tries to sabotage his race by trying to kill Hidalgo. But naturally, our hero, the laconic horseman cannot be bought, prevented, or turned away from his new quest.

Viggo was a wise choice for this role, and his lack of dialogue doesn't detract from his economical portrayal of Hopkins because his face - with his beautifully sculptured cheekbones and dimpled chin - is just so expressive. The light and sublime beauty of the Arabian Desert is gorgeously captured, along with some striking 1890's period detail, and there are also some great looking sword-fighting sequences. Watch for the final stunning final scene - which will absolutely break your heart, of a spectacular and beautiful stampede of wild horses across the American plains. Hidalgo is a sprawling, wide-screen, western epic that is probably being a little overly ambitious. There's no doubt that the film is fantastic to look at and if you love horses, you'll love the film, but the hokey, and predictable storyline ultimately weigh the film down and prevent it from being as good as it might have been. Mike Leonard December 04.